DUSHANBE, November 30, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- A regular sitting of the third session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) of the fourth convocation that is being held today is considering bills requiring amendments to a number of laws.

Among them are laws on the legal status of deputy of the Majlisi Namoyandagon and member of the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament), plant quarantine, ensuring sanitary and epidemiological safety of the population, and banking activity.

MPs are also considering draft laws on specially protected natural areas, additional education, and concessions.

A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands.  Similarly, public services may be operated as concessions.

The owner of the concession — the concessionaire — pays either a fixed sum or a percentage of revenue to the entity with the ability to assign exclusive rights for an area or facility.  A concession may involve the transfer to the concessionaire of the right to use some existing infrastructure required to carry out a business (such as a water supply system in a city); in some cases, such as mining, it may involve merely the transfer of exclusive or non-exclusive easements.